The servant leader

You might have heard the notion of leader as servant. I imagine that it might be based in the model of Christ as servant of His people, I’m not sure.  But I have some experience with the idea that I might like to share.

Here’s the core of the idea:

• The group is the ones who deliver the value of the organization, much more than the leader personally.
• The leader can have the most impact by helping his people to deliver that value, removing obstacles and facilitating action.
• Therefore, the leader can be most valuable by thinking of himself as servant of the group.

But this is just the starting point, there’s more to the story.

Let’s look at Jesus Christ as humble servant.

It’s important to note that Jesus didn’t take this idea of service to mean that nobody is providing leadership, or that everybody leads in their own direction.  Instead, He provided incredibly strong direction, even when that contained messages which were hard for people to accept.

He also didn’t shy away from distinguishing between good and bad behavior, from articulating right and wrong.  But He always kept this in the context of the big goal, the salvation of His people.

So as a leader and servant of your volunteer group, of your workteam, of your family … what does this mean?  What are we to learn?

For me, it comes down to some key shifts in your mindset:

• As leader, you have some specific jobs you need to do, the same as anyone else in the group.  That includes leading the charge on promoting a common purpose and direction, stepping up for the tough decisions and tradeoffs, and letting people know how well they’re doing.
• As servant, you should always be asking yourself: “What am I doing today to help this group be the best they can possibly be?”
• This should all be done with an attitude of loving support, clarity of purpose, and the inherent value of each person.

Your group will see a big difference when it’s more about getting useful things done together than about your own ego.